SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE ELEVENTH REGULAR SESSION. Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia 5-13 August 2015

Transcription

1 SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE ELEVENTH REGULAR SESSION Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia 5-13 August 2015 ANNUAL REPORT TO THE COMMISSION PART 1: INFORMATION ON FISHERIES, RESEARCH, AND STATISTICS WCPFC-SC11-AR/CCM-13 REPUBLIC OF THE MARSHALL ISLANDS

2 Annual Report to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission Part 1: Information of fisheries, statistics and research Republic of the Marshall Islands Oceanic and Industrial Affairs Division Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority August 2015 Scientific data was provided to the Commission in accordance with the decision relating to the provision of scientific data to the Commission by 30 April 2015 Yes

3 SUMMARY The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) cont inued to operate ten purse seine vessels fishing throughout the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO). The total catch by the national purse seine fleet in 2014 was 79,562 metric tonnes (mt) of which 18% was taken within the RMI EEZ. There was no national longline catch recorded as the longline vessels formerly flagged to the RMI were reflagged to the FSM in The commercial catches within the RMI EEZ are taken predominantly by the purse seine fishery but longline and poleand-line operations also take place. In 2014, the estimated total catch for all gears combined was 53,683mt, highest in last five years, with purse seine accounting for 81%, longline at 15%, and pole-and-line at 4 %. Recent efforts to reinstate observer placement on longline vessels operating in the RMI are ongoing with 6 trips undertaken in There were 52 active RMI observers in during the year accounting for 258 purse seine trips. Available observer data for the RMI purse seine fleet indicated 2 turtles, 38 marine mammals, and no seabird interactions recorded. FLAG STATE REPORTING Annual catch and effort estimates for the national purse seine fleet, fishing throughout the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission Convention Area (WCPFC-CA) during the last five years are presented in Table 1a and Figure 1a, with historical estimates further provided in Figure 2a. In 2014, total catches reported through VMS- raised logsheets totaled 79,562 metric tonnes (mt) for purse seine fleet, a slight decrease compared to the previous year. Of this total catch, 91% was comprised of skipjack tuna followed by yellowfin ( 7%) and bigeye tuna ( 2%). Additionally, about 18% of the total catch was taken within the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( RMI) EEZ. Purse seine vessel numbers have remained stable for the last five years (Table 2 and Figure 3). There were no longline vessels operating under the RMI flag in 2014 however, estimates from previous years are provided in Table 1b and Figures 1b and 2b. As briefly indicated in last year s report, the three RMI-flagged longline vessels have since reflagged to the FSM. Table 1a. Annual catch and effort estimates for the Marshall Islands purse seine vessels, by species and year, in the WCPFC Convention Area (Source: Raised logsheet data collected by MIMRA) Catch (mt) Year Effort Blue Oceanic Thresher Mako Silky Skipjack Yellowfin Bigeye (Days) Shark White-tip Shark Shark Shark ,634 51,641 7,838 1, ,448 73,713 6,270 1, ,406 75,618 8, ,390 73,359 5,636 1, ,333 72,053 5,384 2,

4 Catch (mt) ,000 2,500 2,000 1,500 1, Effort (days) Catch Effort Figure 1a. Annual catch and effort for the Marshall Islands purse seine vessels for the WCPFC Convention Area Table 1b. Annual catch and effort estimates for the Marshall Islands longline vessels, by species and year, for the WCPFC Convention Area Catch (mt) Year Effort Blue Black Pacific Striped Blue Oceanic Thresher Mako Silky Yellowfin Bigeye Skipjack Albacore Swordfish (Hooks) Marlin Marlin Bluefin Marlin Shark White-tip Shark Shark Shark , , , ,

5 Catch (mt) Catch Effort Effort (hooks) Figure 1b. Annual catch and effort for the Marshall Islands longline vessels for the WCPFC Convention Area 80,000 70,000 Catch (metric tonnes) 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 BET SKJ YFT 20,000 10,000 0 Figure 2a. Historical annual catch for the Marshall Islands purse seine vessels, by primary species, for the WCPFC Convention Area 3

6 500 Catch (metric tonnes) ALB BET YFT BLM BUM SWO Figure 2b. Historical annual catch for the Marshall Islands longline vessels, by primary species, for the WCPFC Convention Area Table 2. Number of Marshall Islands-flagged vessels, by size category, active in the WCPFC Convention Area, Longline Purse seine Year GRT ,000 1,000-1,

7 12 10 Number of vessels Purse Seine Longline Figure 3. Historical annual vessel numbers for the Marshall Islands, by gear, for the WCPFC Convention Area Figure 4 provides an illustration of the distribution of effort for the national purse seine fleet over the past two years. Although the effort for the fleet is usually concentrated in the southern half of the RMI EEZ, and into the EEZs of Kiribati, Nauru and other adjacent EEZs, the decrease in effort towards the western part of the WCPF-CA was even more evident during Compared to 2013, effort by the fleet in the RMI EEZ decreased by 1% Effort Days 2014 Effort Days Figure 4. Annual distribution of effort (days fishing and searching) by the Marshall Islands purse seine vessels active in the WCPFC Convention Area for 2013 (left) and 2014 (right) 5

8 Preliminary data for observed interactions with species of special interest by the RMI purse seine fleet are shown in Table 3. During 2014, there two sea turtle interactions reported and both were released alive. Of the thirty-eight instances of marine mammal interactions, 3 were released alive, 17 were dead and the fate was unknown for the remaining 18. No seabird interactions were observed during the period. Table 4 shows the observed number of shark catches by the national purse seine fleet during A total of 2,248 sharks were recorded with silky sharks comprising a majority of the numbers. Most sharks were discarded however, 3 silky sharks were noted as retained and MIMRA is currently undertaking more awareness work with fleet operators to address this issue. Table 3. Observed interactions with species of special interest (seabird, turtle and marine mammals) on Marshall Islands purse seine vessels, in Category Species Number Alive Dead Unknown MARINE MAMMALS False Killer Whale Spinner Dolphin Rough-toothed dolphin Melon-headed whale Risso's Dolphin MARINE REPTILES Green Turtle Olive Ridley Turtle WHALE SHARK WHALE SHARK Table 4. Observed estimated catches of key shark species from Marshall Islands purse seine vessels, in Species Number Retained Discarded GREAT HAMMERHEAD OCEANIC WHITE-TIP SHARK SCALLOPED HAMMERHEAD SILKY SHARK WHALE SHARK TOTAL

9 COASTAL STATE REPORTING Table 5 provides a description of foreign-flagged vessels licensed to fish in the Marshall Islands waters over the past five years. A total of 216 foreign vessels were licensed however, not all were active during the period. Domesticallybased foreign longline vessels operating under the Marshall Islands Fishing Venture fly foreign flags of registration and not necessarily the RMI. Table 5. Number of foreign longline, pole-and-line and purse seine vessels licenced to fish in the RMI EEZ, by year and flag. Year FLAG GEAR CHINA LL PS FSM LL PS JAPAN LL PL PS KIRIBATI PS KOREA PS CH-TAIPEI LL PS PNG PS PHILLIPINES PS TUVALU PS VANUATU PS USA PS TOTAL LL PL PS Available logsheet data indicate that total catch by purse seine fleets operating in the RMI EEZ increased from 27,608 mt in 2013 to 43,571mt in 2013 and 33% of the catch taken by the domestic fleet followed by 26% by the US fleet (Table 6). Skipjack tuna continues to be the dominant catch, accounting for around 93% of the total catch in As previously indicated, most of the purse seine fishing in-zone is restricted to southern areas of the EEZ. The domestically-based foreign longline fleet comprises of vessels from China, Chinese Taipei and FSM which are managed and operated under Marshall Islands Fishing Venture, Ltd., which is a subsidiary of Luen Thai. Japanese longline vessels offload their catch in ports in Japan. Catch estimates for the domestically-based vessels have been raised using unloadings data. The overall catch estimates by all longline fleets in 2014 indicate about a 33% increase from the previous year (Table 7). Bigeye catch continues to account for the major part of the target catch composition. As with the purse seine fishery, most of the longline fishing effort occurs in the southern areas of the RMI EEZ however in the longline fishery, effort is more widely distributed throughout the zone. 7

10 In 2014, catches from the pole-and-line fleet increased by 25% compared to the previous year (Table 8). The shortterm trend continues to show some variability between years. Skipjack is the main species making up the catch composition for this fleet and accounts for almost 100% of the total. The RMI has yet to place observers on board these vessels and as a result observer coverage for validation purposes has not been achieved. Figure 5 illustrates in catch trends in the RMI EEZ for all gears combined, over the last five years. Catches have continued to increase with an overall peak in The catches in the EEZ are mainly taken by the purse seine fishery which account for about 80% of the catch. 8

11 Table 6. Annual catches of purse seine fleets operating in the RMI EEZ, by flag and species, (Source: Unraised logsheet data collected by MIMRA) Catch (metric tonnes) Flag Year BET SKJ YFT OTH Total China , ,476 FSM Japan , , Korea , , , ,290 RMI , , , , , , , , , ,268 Tuvalu , , Chinese Taipei , , , ,974 USA , , , , , , , , , ,382 Vanuatu , , , ,025 TOTAL EEZ , , , , , , ,165 25, , ,419 40, ,571 9

12 Table 7. Annual catches of longline fleets operating in the RMI EEZ, by flag and species, (Source: catch estimates of locally-based fleet derived from best combination of logsheet and unloadings data, others are unraised logsheet data collected by MIMRA) Catch (metric tonnes) Flag Year ALB BET YFT OTH Total China , , , , , , ,763 1, , ,817 1, ,680 FSM , , , , , , ,410 Japan RMI Ch-Taipei TOTAL EEZ ,301 1, , ,164 1, , ,027 1, , ,972 2, , ,680 2, ,798 Table 8. Annual catches of pole-and-line fleet operating in the RMI EEZ, by flag and species, (Source: Unraised logsheet data collected by MIMRA) Catch (metric tonnes) Flag Year BET SKJ YFT OTH TOTAL Japan , , , , , , , ,314 10

13 60,000 50,000 Catch (metric tonnes) 40,000 30,000 20,000 Pole and Line Longline Purse Seine 10, Figure 5. Total catch by the different gears operating in the RMI EEZ DISPOSAL OF CATCH As mentioned earlier, the Marshall Islands Fishing Venture, Ltd. (MIFV)operates the Longline Fishbase with domestically-based foreign longline vessels. The four RMI-flagged longline vessels that comprised the national longline fleet have since reflagged to FSM in early In 2014, there was a total of 6,356 mt tons of fish unloaded by the fleet and most of the unloaded catches were bound for export markets (Table 9). The MIFV exports mainly fresh chilled tuna species to markets in the US, China and Canada. Frozen fish (rejects and by catch), designated as OTHER, are shipped to China and Philippines via transport containers and/or sold locally. The port of Majuro is the only designated port for transshipment in the RMI and the numbers and volumes continued to increase in There was an estimated 495 purse seine transshipments undertaken in Majuro in 2014 with a provisional total of 315,909 mt transshipped (Table 10). Additionally, most transshipments by the national purse seine fleet are usually carried out in Majuro, however, foreign ports in the region are occasionally utilized (Table 11). 11

14 Table 9. Total unloaded catch (mt) for domestically-based longline vessels, 2014 Species Export Other TOTAL ALBACORE BIGEYE 3, ,831 BLUE MARLIN MAHI MAHI / DOLPHINFISH / OPAH / MOONFISH SAILFISH (INDO-PACIFIC) SWORDFISH WAHOO YELLOWFIN 1, ,745 TOTAL 5,136 1,221 6,356 Table 10. Provisional purse seine transshipments in Majuro port in 2014 Flag No. of PS transhipments SKJ YFT BET MIX_YFT+BET MIX_SKJ+YFT+BET OTH TOTAL China 66 22,604 2, ,303 8, ,080 Korea ,770 RMI ,484 3, , ,490 New Zealand 5 1, , ,771 Philippines 3 1, ,315 Tuvalu 5 3, ,695 CH-Taipei ,333 6, , ,973 USA ,443 3, , ,046 Vanuatu 35 22,804 2, , ,768 TOTAL ,250 19,325 1,026 1,536 43, ,909 12

15 Table 11. Purse seine transshipments in by RMI-flagged vessels in 2014 Annex II (1) SPECIES QUANTITY OFFLOADED (mt) Transhipped in port Transhipped in WCP-CA Caught in WCP-CA Product Form YFT 3,557 Yes Yes Yes Frozen Whole Purse Seine BET 30 Yes Yes Yes Frozen Whole Purse Seine SKJ 57,391 Yes Yes Yes Frozen Whole Purse Seine MIXED (YFT+BET) MIXED (SKJ+YFT+BET) Annex II (2) Port Number of Transhipments Gear 233 Yes Yes Yes Frozen Whole Purse Seine 10,354 Yes Yes Yes Frozen Whole Purse Seine Transhipped in port Transhipped in WCP-CA Caught in WCP-CA Product Form MAJURO 125 Yes Yes Yes Frozen Whole Purse Seine RABAUL 2 Yes Yes Yes Frozen Whole Purse Seine Gear ONSHORE DEVELOPMENTS AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS MIMRA, on behalf the Government, still maintains a joint venture partnership with Koo's Fishing Company, Ltd. (KFC). This venture continues to provide additional revenue stream as well as a catalyst for further on-shore developments. KFC recently launched 2 additional fishing vessels in 2010, F/V Marshalls 202 and F/V Marshalls 203, which also fish under the FSM Arrangement for Regional Access currently administered by the PNA Office. The Pan Pacific Foods (PPF) loining plant continued operations in 2014 with viable production outputs supported by ongoing hiring and recruitment of local Marshallese employees. As has been reported before, the company also operates three (3) purse seine vessels which supply the plant with raw materials. In 2014, a total of 3,768mt of precooked tuna loins and related products were exported to various markets (Table 12). 13

16 Table 12. Total exports (mt) for Pan Pacific Foods loining plant in 2014, by product and destination. Product (mt) Destination Loin (SKJ) Whole (SKJ & YFT) Fishmeal China Fiji Thailand 0 1,013 0 Taiwan USA Vietnam 0 1,195 0 TOTAL 466 3, FUTURE PROSPECTS OF THE FISHERY The RMI intends to support domestic fisheries development aspirations in the region so long as it goes hand in hand with sustainable management measures that do not put a disproportionate burden on SIDS, in accordance with Article 30 of the Convention. Other notable future prospects for the RMI tuna fishery involve further observer and debriefer capacity development as MIMRA continues to progressively train and recruit additional fisheries observers. MIMRA plans to recruit and train port coordinators to monitor the increasing number of transshipments taking place in Majuro port. Additional developments and improvements to in-house data management systems is another area of focus that the RMI intends to progress so as to streamline our overall management and monitoring efforts. In this regard, relevant details are briefly provided in the next section below. DATA COLLECTION SYSTEM AND RESEARCH ACTIVITIES Data management and handling capacity continues to be a vital tool for MIMRA. The SPC-OFP has been very instrumental in the RMI s data efforts. Recent joint assistance from SPC and FFA allowed for considerable improvements in data collection and management where it was envisaged that a more integrated fisheries information management system will assist in streamlining most if not all of our reporting obligations. MIMRA continues to employ a dedicated port sampler covering almost 100% of longline unloadings at the MIFV fishbase. Collated data are entered into the TUFMAN database and are subsequently sent to SPC-OFP on a regular basis for further analysis. Preliminary 2014 data indicates that around 116,151 fish were measured mostly comprising of the two main target species, bigeye and yellowfin tunas (Table 13). Also in 2014, additional effort was shifted to cover port sampling on purse seine vessels transshipping in Majuro with over 8,600 fish sampled (Table 14). In May 2014, with financial and technical support provided by SPC, MIMRA started employing 2 biological samplers to collect samples at the MIFV fishbase. This has led to an increase in numbers of samples collected and sent to SPC with over 800 samples collected by the samplers for the remainder of

17 In September 2014, with financial and technical support once again provided by SPC, MIMRA hired its first full-time Electronic Reporting Officer (ERO). To date, the ERO has installed and updated etunalog on 11 purse seine fishing vessels and regularly engages with vessel agents. As the etunalog was still in trial phase, the ERO gathered information that will assist in further developing the application. In addition, etubs trials were also ongoing in There were 5 RMI observers that undertook etubs sea trials. Towards the end of the year, relevant staff attended the ifims training in Noumea conducted by the developers. MIMRA intends to shift its focus towards the PNAO FIMS as the standard by which it will manage and handle its data complemented by existing databases such as TUFMAN and the TUFMAN2 currently in development. Current training schedule entails further development of e-reporting and e-monitoring initiatives. It is envisaged that these trainings will encourage observers to adapt by using new tools and technology in gathering data more efficiently in a timely manner. Additional details on recent developments in this area will be presented in next year s report. In 2014, there were 52 active RMI observers employed under the MIMRA Observer Program. A total of 258 purse seine trips and 6 longline trips by RMI observers were undertaken during the year (Table 15). The main goal for the year was to focus on further streamlining and improving the training programs carried out at the Maritime and Vocational Training Institute at the College of the Marshall Islands. The Institute is gradually developing with a view towards addressing most if not all the immediate needs of the Program. One of the pilot projects undertaken by the Institute is to have PIRFO Standards delivered and rolled out for certified observers. While fisheries observer trainings are all but one component, it is worth noting the other aspects involving standards such as STCW-95 which include Basis Sea Safety, Survival, and Crewmanship in order to allow for more robust standards and certification. In this regard, numerous recommendations and proposals have been tabled. As previously mentioned, debriefing is one of the top priorities for the Program and latest developments in this area will be presented in next year s report. Table 13. Total number of fish sampled from longline unloadings Majuro port, 2014 Number Measured Number not measured Month ALB BET YFT OTH ALB BET YFT OTH January 0 3,140 5, ,538 February 0 3,936 4, ,729 March 0 5,630 5, ,092 April 0 5,677 2, ,784 May 0 5,589 2, ,806 June 0 6,189 4, ,431 July 0 5,322 1, ,810 August 0 7,278 2, ,595 September 0 6, October 0 9,360 1, ,217 November 0 8,084 3, ,518 December 0 7,770 5, , ,278 TOTAL 0 74,050 42, ,299 2,142 2,874 32,420 15

18 Table 14. Total number of fish sampled from purse seine transshipments in Majuro port, 2014 Month SKJ YFT BET January February March April May 1, June 1, July August September 1, October 1, November 2, December TOTAL 7, Table 15. Observer trips in 2014 Purse Seine Longline Arrangement Flag Trips Days Trips Days Bilateral/MIMRA China Korea CH-Taipei 78 2, Tuvalu Vanuatu POA/FSMA China FSM Kiribati PNG Phillipines CH-Taipei Vanuatu FFA USA 36 1, TOTAL 258 7,

19 APPENDIX 1 CMM REPORTING CMM Reference Description Response CMM North Pacific Albacore Not applicable. No RMI-flagged longline vessels operating in CMM CMM CMM CMM SW Striped Marlin Seabirds SW Swordfish Transhipments Not applicable. No RMI vessels fishing south of 15 S. Available observer data indicates no seabirds interactions in Not applicable. NO RMI vessels fishing south of 20 S. See Table 11. A total of 127 in-port transhipments (71,565 mt) were carried out by RMI-flagged purse seine vessels in the WCP-CA. All but two transhipments occurred in home port of Majuro. CMM CMM CMM CMM CMM CMM Observer coverage (WCPFC 11 decision -para 484 (b) South Pacific Albacore Sharks Cetaceans Oceanic White-Tip Shark Whale Sharks Silky Sharks Not applicable. No RMI vessels fishing south of 20 S. Annual catch information for key shark species submitted in accordance with 'Scientific Data to be Provided to the Commission' No data provided by operators. RMI is undertaking more awareness work on this specific reporting obligation with vessel masters. Observed interations provided in Appendix Table 1. OCS discards estimate is 59 sharks (Appendix Table 3) Data provided by operators indicate 3 interactions while observer data indicates only 2, all released alive. See Appendix Table 4. Observer data reported 2184 interactions No RMI-flagged longline vessels in

20 Table 1. Observed interactions with cetaceans on RMI-flagged purse seine vessels, 2014 Number of Discards Species Alive Dead Unknown Retained False Killer Whale Melon-headed whale Risso's Dolphin Rough-toothed dolphin Spinner Dolphin Table 2. Observed interactions with oceanic white-tip sharks on RMI-flagged purse seine vessels, 2014 Number of Discards Species Alive Dead Unknown Retained Oceanic White-tip Shark Table 3. Observed interactions with whale sharks on RMI-flagged purse seine vessels, 2014 Number of Discards Species Alive Dead Unknown Retained Whale Shark Table 4. Observed interactions with silky sharks on RMI-flagged purse seine vessels, 2014 Number of Discards Species Alive Dead Unknown Retained Silky Shark